The view from Moose Mountain Road....

The gates on Highway 66 opened yesterday and the boys were on the verge of a nap, so I steered the RAV4 out for a look at the familiar haunts. Spring may have come late this year, but we're finally through the worst of it, and the late spring/early summer hiking can begin in earnest.

God, I love living here.

(Photo actually taken April 18, 2010)

Moose Mountain - August 10, 2008

I mentioned before the summer of 2008 was the "Summer of Peaks". Moose Mountain was another notch in that belt. Nat and I had attempted it before, but waited a little too late in the season and opted to stop just short of the active fire lookout on top. This time there was no chance of snow stopping us.

Thunderstorms on the other hand are a real risk in the summer. Moose Mountain seems to be a bit of a lightning rod, and its location on the edge of the Rockies means storms can develop in a matter of minutes. There's even a sign posted at the trailhead warning hikers of the high lightning strike risk, and the fact the mountain itself is struck by lightning throughout the season. Yeah, that's what I want to read when starting a hike up a mountain!

The approach to Moose Mountain is a pretty yet nondescript trail through forest and meadow. It's not terribly strenuous, and it's usually used by cyclists. However, there's no mistaking once you begin your ascent up the actual mountain, as you lose the trees and have only barren landscape around you:



As you start the switchbacks up this side of Moose Mountain, you realize you are right on the edge of the Rocky Mountains, and there is lots to see:







After the switchbacks, the trail turns into a bit of a false ridge walk; you walk along the top of one peak, only to dip down and start ascent of another. It's the second ascent along a narrow trail of scale that is not for the faint of heart. That faint line along the ridge and side of mountain? Yeah, that's the trail. You can also see the fire lookout at the peak. We're looking west, but the trail actually winds around to the other sided of the peak to approach the lookout:





Looking down the valley between the mountains makes for a fabulous look at the rock formations:



The Moose Mountain fire lookout is still an active lookout. Someone works here from May until October, and lives in the tiny structure that doubles as the lookout. On top of that, that person will have a few thousand people hiking to his doorstep every summer:



All food and supplies are brought in by helicopter. The landing pad is located beside the lookout:



There is a guestbook to sign, as well as a couple of signs to greet visitors, one official, and one a little more "unofficial":





Nat and I were the first up this particular day, and to our surprise the fire lookout guy came out the greet us (he actually said he could hear us coming from quite a distance... Nat and I are not exactly silent hikers). He was extremely friendly and informative, telling us about bringing his family up for part of the summer (imagine 2 adults and 2 kids under 10 living in that tiny house!), busting illegal campfires, the training required for such a job, past fire lookouts (Nat's father met a lookout at Moose Mountain who played the cello for the hikers who arrived) and more. He also assured us (me) that those dark clouds on the horizon were "unlikely" to contain lightning (but did say he'd had to chase more than one hiking group off the mountain due to incoming lightning storms).

I think a book could be written purely about the people who man the fire lookouts around the globe.

That said - you can't beat the working conditions. This is his view to the west:



We bid the fire lookout goodbye as a number of other hikers were making their way up the trail. This was definitely one of the most interesting hikes yet!

As my closer, here's a panorama shot from the summit of Moose Mountain, stitched together by amazing hubby Dave. Imagine having this as your private view 5 months out of the year! (please click on photo for full-size):

Moose Mountain - November 22, 2007

Though it was late in the season, D and I thought we'd give Moose Mountain one last try. I didn't figure we'd get much beyond the switchbacks, but even that would provide a great hike and some stunning views.

But it wasn't meant to be. About 45 minutes into the hike we saw these prints along the trail:




They trailed along both sides of the trail. At first we thought it was bear, just due to the size of the imprint in the snow -- it was clearly a large furry foot. But when I got home and did a little research, the prints were more than likely from a feline paw. And at that size, likely cougar. There had been numerous fresh deer and elk prints across the trail that morning. That's usually a good enough sign a predator might follow.

We turned around (obviously) and headed back to the trailhead. It was a tough thing to do. It was a beautiful November day, full sunshine, not even the lightest breeze, no one else on the trail. And that last reason was a key point in turning around.

I took one last shot as we headed back. We'll make sure to get back to Moose Mountain as soon as the access road opens again.

Moose Mountain - October 21, 2007

Elbow Valley -Moose Mountain. Trail Details: Take Highway 66 west, go past Station Flats. Look for Paddy's Flat campground on the left side of the road, the road to Moose Mountain is the next right immediately after that. Take the dirt road up. Up. Up. Parking for the trailhead is well marked and access beyond that is limited. The trail begins off the old forestry road (blocked by a gate from the main road).

We were totally pumped for Moose Mountain, and we suspected this might be one of the last new hikes of the year. We had no idea how great Moose Mountain would be.

We started out ridiculously early, but it was the right thing to do, even in the third week of October, Moose Mountain was very popular. We didn't run into anyone on the way up, but plenty of people on the way down.

Surprisingly, we didn't see a lot of snow along the early part of the trail, this was about as deep as it got:



Eventually, the trail opens up a bit and you're given just a taste of the amazing scenery ahead. It's hard to believe this is only minutes from Bragg Creek:



After the clearing, the trail starts to lead uphill just a little bit, and that's when the snow really started to show up on the trail, but even this didn't last long:



The trail isn't really a sharp incline until you are close to Moose Mountain itself, but then it rises sharply -- there's no mistaking it. Amazingly, before you even start to tackle the steeper incline, you can see downtown Calgary from the trail:



Can't see it? Well, it's much more visible from the trail. For a much better look, check out this incredibly magnified shot (this is a very large file size!).

The approach to Moose Mountain was nice, but when you hit the base -- nothing but rock and snow. The trail is a series of switchbacks up the hill. We called this part of the trail "hiking in Afghanistan. Can you tell why?



But the view just kept getting more amazing:



The eastern edge of the Rockies:



After a long series of switchbacks, we made it to the top of the mountain... or more like a plateau. The real peak was on the next part of the mountain. You can see the lookout at the top:



We hiked until the trail was just too covered in snow (and too windy) to continue safely. We made it within spitting distance of the top:



Can't wait for spring....